


Love Gives Us a Fairytale

by Cinder



Series: Whumptober 2019 [6]
Category: Charmed (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:54:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23369563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinder/pseuds/Cinder
Summary: Princess Macy is kidnapped by the princes of the evil Caine kingdom. Her personal guard, knight Harry, has gone into the Dark Forest to find and rescue her.To rescue his beloved princess, all he has to do is face down dark magic, an evil king, the evil king's children, and his own self-loathing.Easy, right?*Whumptober Day 12 - "Don't Move"Whumptober Day 7 - Shackled*Title comes from the anonymous quote: "Every once in a while, in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale.
Relationships: Harry Greenwood/Macy Vaughn
Series: Whumptober 2019 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1503005
Comments: 14
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

To say that Harry hated himself would be an understatement. 

He despised, detested, loathed, himself. As a means of passing the time while he walked, he would try to think of all the different words to use to say how much he thoroughly disliked himself. 

He had been blessed to find a good job with the royal family. He had been favored by them, treated as a friend by the princesses, a trusted ally by the queen. They had liked him, trusted him, so much, that he was given the great honor of guarding the eldest princess. 

Princess Macy. The kindest, smartest rule the kingdom had ever seen. He was meant to be her personal guard, her protector against all who wished her harm. 

And he had failed her. 

Somehow, a week ago, Harry had bid the princess goodnight and seen her to her personal chambers. The next morning, the princess had vanished from her rooms, replaced with a mocking note. It wasn’t signed, but everyone knew who had done it – the same visitors, princes from the Caine kingdom, who had mysteriously left that same night. 

Now the princesses were distraught, and Queen Marisol was inconsolable. None of them could think of anything other than Macy, in the hands of the Caine family. 

He’d never forgive himself, if anything happened to the princess. Hell, he’d never forgive himself now, for allowing Alastair’s sons to make off with her, dragging her into the Dark Forest. 

It was Night 7 of his journey through the forest, and his desperation was at its peak. It didn’t help matters that the Dark Forest, no friend to anyone with goodness and empathy in their hearts, seemed to be trying to slow him down at every turn. He tripped on roots, got continually lost, and several times he had had to hide in the trees from rabid wolves. 

Still, he couldn’t let himself stop moving. Every moment that he rested, that he stopped for food and water, he knew the Caines were moving farther away. He staggered and stumbled through the forest, numb with cold, weak with hunger, and barely aware of what was in front of him. 

Then, suddenly, his brain registered a flash of orange. Not a leaf – nothing so beautiful as a changing leaf ever rested in the Dark Forest; the place was filled with the bare branches of trees, no matter what the season. 

He crept, slowly and quietly, towards the flash of orange. His heart lifted as his wish was confirmed – it was the orange of flames. A campfire. He sneaked as close to the campfire as he could, peering out from behind a tree. 

His heart exploded with joy. Macy was sitting in front of the campfire. She was blindfolded, gagged, and bound, but looked unhurt. Next to her, Hunter was lying on the ground, sleeping peacefully. Parker, sitting across from them, was obviously meant to be keeping guard. However, even though he couldn’t see the boy’s face, Harry could tell he had dozed off. His head was dropped to his chest, and his breathing was even. Only Macy, struggling against the ropes, was awake. Harry’s heart swelled with pride; he knew she must have been fighting from the moment they had grabbed her, and hadn’t stopped for one second. 

Harry debated on how best to rescue her – he could scoop her up and try to sneak away, but undoubtably she’d fight him, not knowing who he was. If they made too much noise, they’d awaken the Caines. If he pulled off the blindfold and made her aware of his presence, she wouldn’t fight, but every second in the Caines’ presence was dangerous. 

As he was thinking, he felt a sharp point against his back. 

“Well, what do we have here?” 

Harry’s stomach dropped, and he turned to see Abigail Caine, standing with a sword in hand and an unbearable smirk on her face. 

Instantly, Hunter awoke, rolling next to Macy and sitting up, holding a dagger to her throat in one smooth gesture. 

“Don’t move,” Hunter said. 

Harry froze. 

“Drop your weapon.”

Harry looked at Abigail, her sword aimed at his chest, at Hunter and his dagger to Macy’s throat, and Parker, who had a hatchet in hand, ready to use it. He dropped the sword into the dirt. Instantly Abigail kicked it aside and pushed his hands behind back. Parker tossed her a coil of rope, and she began winding it around his hands. Even though Abigail’s sword was no longer aimed at him, Harry didn’t move a muscle for fear of the dagger at Macy’s throat. 

“I thought you went back to your kingdom weeks ago,” Harry spat to Abigail. He knew the Caine brothers had abducted Macy, but he had hoped that Abigail had the goodness to stay out of the plot. 

“I was going to, but then, halfway through the trip I thought ‘Why let my brothers have all the fun?’ So I sent the couch on ahead, and camped out to wait for them whenever they got around to kidnaping the princess.” 

Harry closed his eyes, unable to bear his stupidity. All those weeks she had spent as a guest in the Vera castle. Walking with him, telling him sob stories about her horrible brothers. He had thought she was different. Thought she was a friend. How wrong he had been. He couldn’t believe he had felt guilty for weeks after turning down her marriage proposal, thinking about how hurt she had been. That, he was sure, was the real reason for her participation in Macy’s kidnapping. Even though he hadn’t said it, she had known his rejection was because he could never bring himself to leave the princess’ side. To leave her guarded by someone else was unbearable. How could he guarantee her safety, unless he was the one guarding her? 

That was what he had thought at the time. Currently, he was thinking about his incredible arrogance, and how a new guard for Macy probably would have prevented all of this.

When had finished tying him up, Abigail pushed him to the ground. He landed face first in the dirt, unable to do anything to prevent his fall. He heard laughter, and then he was picked up and leaned against a tree. 

Hunter had removed Macy’s blindfold and gag, and she was staring at Harry with wide eyes. 

Harry bowed his head. “I’m so sorry, my Lady.” 

Hunter snorted. 

Macy shook her head. “Forget about that. Are you all right?” 

Harry wasn’t sure how he was supposed to forget about the his immense failure, but he decided not to mention that. “Yes, I’m fine.” 

Abigail flopped down between them. She looked at Harry. “Maybe Father will let me keep you as a toy.”

Macy looked furiously at her, struggling against the ropes. “He’s not a toy, he’s a human being!” 

Abigail smirked, clearly pleased at upsetting Macy. 

Macy and Harry locked eyes. Harry was touched to see that Macy was concerned for him. The princess had always had a kind heart, but now he wished she didn’t. Because he was still determined to rescue her, but now he knew it wouldn’t be as easy. And the odds were good he wouldn’t make it out alive. He didn’t care about that, but he knew Macy would. 

He just hoped she’d understand.


	2. Chapter 2

Alastair Caine’s castle was, quite frankly, a cesspit. 

The entire place reeked of dark magic, of curses, of torture and bloodshed. Harry skin crawled every second he spent there, locked away. 

He hadn’t seen the princess since they had been delivered to Alastair over a week ago. Alastair had been delighted to see Macy, less so to see Harry. He had ordered him locked in a tower, and there Harry had stayed. 

All in all, it wasn’t exactly the torture he had been expecting. He supposed the cot and daily meals were courtesy of Abigail, who frequently came to “check in” on him. Harry had finally figured out the way to get her to leave quickly was to continually ask about Macy and where she was. 

No matter how many times Abigail visited him, she never mentioned Macy. She was clearly jealous of Harry’s one-track mind, and loved leaving him in suspense over the princess. 

A full week passed before Harry saw Macy. He was spending the morning as he always did – gazing out of the narrow sliver of light from his tower window, thinking about and failing to find ways to escape. 

When he heard the creak of the door, he automatically looked over. He expected to see a guard with a food tray. Instead, Macy was standing in the doorway. 

Harry jumped to his feet. “My Lady,” he said, bowing. He ignored the snickers of the guards outside his door. They were Alastair’s men - they didn’t know a thing about loyalty.

Macy ignored the bow too, rushing to enfold him in a hug. Harry felt calm rush over him for the first time since had arrived at the castle. Macy was here, and she was alright. The rest could wait. 

She drew back, looking him up and down. Harry suddenly felt ashamed of his wrinkled, mud splattered clothes, of his disheveled hair. He had tried to keep up appearances, but days without a comb or fresh change of clothes meant he could only clean up so far.

But Macy wasn’t staring at his face or clothes. Instead, she gazed down in horror at his feet. 

“Harry,” Macy breathed, horrified, staring at the shackle on his ankle. 

“It’s nothing,” Harry tried to assure her. “Are you okay?” 

“It is not nothing!” Macy said. “You’re already locked in a tower, do they have to chain you up, too?”

“That’s nothing. You’re lucky we didn’t hang him by his ankles,” Hunter said. Harry’s arms automatically tightened around Macy as the prince walked into the room. “So, did you tell him the happy news?”

“What news?” Harry’s stomach dropped at the guilty, scared look that had suddenly appeared on Macy’s face. 

Hunter stepped forward, grinning. “The princess and I are engaged.” 

“What?” Harry looked at Macy, but she was staring down at her feet. He gently tilted her head back up to face him. “Macy,” Macy’s eyes widened, Harry rarely ever used her name, it was always “My Lady” or “Princess”, what did they threaten you with?” 

“Nothing,” Macy mumbled. 

“Trust me, we tried,” Hunter said, “but she didn’t care about any threats to herself. Now you, on the other hand. Once we started threatening you, we got somewhere.” 

“No. No no no Macy,” Harry said. “Don’t do this. Not for me.” 

Macy gave him a watery smile. “I’ll be fine,” she said, her voice cracking.

“Absolutely not,” Harry said. “I, I’ll –“ He tried to think of some way to prevent this, but he couldn’t. There was nothing he could do. 

“Time to go,” Hunter said. “We’ve got preparations to make.” 

Macy threw herself into Harry’s arms once more. Harry tightened his grip around her. He couldn’t let her go. He couldn’t let this happen. He had known she would marry a prince, that it was demanded by her station. He had resigned himself to that future, where he had to live knowing that she was married to someone wealthier, more powerful than him, someone who could make her infinitely more happy than he ever could. But to know she was betrothed to someone as cruel and sadistic as Hunter? He couldn’t stand it. 

Hunter reached forward and ripped Macy out of his arms, dragging her backward. Macy looked at him, face screwed up in hatred and fear. Harry wanted to sink to his knees. She’d be married to someone she loathed and was afraid of for the rest of her life. 

“Macy,” Harry started forward, but the shackle prevented him from moving. He tugged frantically at it, desperate. “Macy, don’t do this, please!” he yelled desperately. 

Macy turned back to look at him one last time, her eyes wet with tears. 

Then she was gone, and Harry was alone. 

Harry grabbled once more at his shackled ankle. There had to be some way to unlock the shackle – But he didn’t have any hope. He had examined it for hours when he had first been brought to the tower. The shackle had no lock – it was set by magic. 

“I suppose you heard the happy news?” 

Harry looked up. He had been so preoccupied by the shackle that he hadn’t noticed Abigail entering the room.

“Abigail, if there’s even a shred of decency in your heart –“ Harry started forward, hands held out in supplication, but Abigail was deliberately out of his reach. He could only stare at her with desperate eyes. “You have to stop this wedding.” 

Abigail said nothing.

“You once said you cared for me. If you still care for me, even a little bit, please, please don’t let Macy marry Hunter.” 

“Harry,” Abigail said. “Of course I still care for you.” She finally moved towards him. He didn’t move when she cupped his face in her hands, running a thumb up and down his cheek. “I care for you so much. And so I guess I have to ask: what would you do to prevent your beloved Macy from marrying my brother?” Abigail said.

Harry looked at her, and with his stomach sinking, knew this was the same conversation Hunter had had with Macy just hours ago.

“Anything.”

“Hm.” Abigail said. She leaned back, pretending to think. “You see, I could try to find a way to get rid of Hunter. For you, of course.”

“I supposed Parker would be next in line for the throne,” Abigail mused. Then she snorted, “But Parker’s not fit to polish the throne, much less sit on it. Father knows that.” 

She took Harry’s hand in hers, and he had to resist the urge to pull away. “If Hunter…somehow, tragically, met an unfortunate end, and Parker proved himself unworthy…I would be next in line for the throne. And a queen needs a king.” She stared meaningfully at him. Harry swallowed hard.

“You should honored, Harry. I can’t see your little princess condescending to marry a lowly castle guard. But I, I care about you Harry. Enough that your rank doesn’t matter to me. I would raise you up to be king of this land.”

“On one condition,” Harry said. He had deliberately saved this for the end, once Abigail could see her goal in sight. “Macy goes free.” 

Abigail raised an eyebrow, looking at this new request from all angles. Harry continued. “You know I’ll keep my word, Abigail. I’ve never gone back on it before, and I won’t now. But Macy MUST go free. And no loopholes or tricks – Macy mustn’t be locked in a tower, free to go in fifty years, or sent into the forest with nothing but the clothes on her back. I want her delivered back to her kingdom, with an armed escort to ensure her safety.” 

Abigail bit her lip, considering. Harry knew she didn’t want Macy around the palace, tempting him. And to murder Macy would only cause a war and would forever earn her Harry’s hatred. He would resist her at every turn. To return Macy, claiming her kidnapping was an evil action of her brothers and father, would allow Abigail to avoid a war with the Veras’ kingdom and keep Harry all to herself. It was the best and smartest route. 

“Very well then.” Abigail nodded. “The second it is safe for her to leave the kingdom, she will do so. Before our wedding.”

Harry nodded, relieved. He didn’t want Macy at his sham of a wedding, and by ensuring she left before then, Macy was guaranteed to be gone soon. Abigail would want to be married as soon as possible, and wasn’t one to hesitate before acting. 

Abigail smiled, and pressed a kiss to his lips. It was unsatisfactory, he was sure. Her kiss turned him cold. He was frozen with horror – at the situation, at her, at his future, but when she pulled back, she was smiling. “Plenty of time to work on that,” she said. “Give me a few days to work, and I’ll come back for you.” 

Harry swallowed, and tried to smile. He couldn’t.

“Before the week’s out, we’ll be planning our wedding.”


End file.
